ASU football: A conversation with offensive coordinator Mike Norvell

Arizona State averaged 33.2 points last season. Moving the ball under former offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone seldom was a problem. In that sense, Mike Norvell has his work cut for him.

The Sun Devils' new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach arrives without an experienced quarterback. Sophomores Mike Bercovici and Taylor Kelly, as well as redshirt-freshman Michael Eubank are each talented, but they have yet to start a collegiate contest.

Norvell, however, remains encouraged. He likes what he's seen from ASU on film, and he can't wait to see them on the field when spring practice starts March 13. I recently sat down with Norvell to discuss the transition:

What's the hardest thing to do when you come into a program?

"It takes time. You evaluate as much as last year's film as you can, but you also just try to spend as much time with the returning players as you can. Just as they're walking through ask them to come in and say hello just so you get an opportunity to know these guys. That's the biggest obstacle. Just the time it takes to build relationships."

How do you approach the spring?

"One of our biggest goals is to establish expectations. And that's something you have to do coming in from Day 1. Every staff is different, so we have to establish what our expectations will be and then help them get there and help them accomplish their goals."

From what you've seen on film, what excites you about the returning offensive players?

"We have a lot of explosive players and that's exciting. You look at Jamal Miles, Cam Marshall, Rashad Ross, experienced football players that know how to score some touchdowns and are electric with the ball. We've got a couple positions where we're going to have great competition. I'm looking forward to seeing them work. I can tell you: This group is hungry."

What do you expect from the quarterback battle?

"I'm really excited about the guys we have that are competing. They're great character kids that love to work. And they're young. You can tell they're ready to compete. They're sponges. They want to see how we expect things to be done. I'm excited to see how they respond to our coaching, how they respond to adversity. It's going to be a growing process. Those three guys are extremely close, but they're ready to compete."

Let's go through them real quick. From film, what's your impression of Bercovici?

"He's a guy that has an exceptional arm. He can really throw the football. He's agile in the pocket, he can move around. He's a very heady young man. He wants to be a coach on the field."

Kelly?

"Taylor Kelly can do a little bit of both. He can run it. Very athletic. He's used to running a zone-read type offense when he was in high school and also throwing it on time and getting the ball out."

Eubank?

"Mike Eubank is a physical specimen. He brings an interesting dynamic running the football just with his size and speed. He has a great arm. He can make a lot of the throws. And part of being young is just continuing to understand throwing on time, but we think all three of these guys have the skill sets to be very successful in this offense."

Do you want your quarterback to be a running threat?

"Our quarterback doesn't have to run for 80, 90 yards a game, but we want the defense to have to respect the quarterback in the run game. And if they don't account for him, and we have a guy who can run for 30 or 40 yards a game, that brings a lot of production for us. We don't need a dual-threat quarterback, but we would definitely like to utilize their legs as well as their arm."

At any point did you think you'd have Brock Osweiler this season?

"I spoke with Brock when I came through. He told me he was going through the decision-making process but he sounded excited about what we were bringing. But he went through the process and decided that declaring for the (NFL) draft was the best opportunity for him. But there was a time, yeah, when I was excited to get a chance to work with him."

What would you like to do offensively?

"We're a two-back spread offense. We're going to push the tempo. We're going to be a fast-break offense. We're going to try and dictate the tempo. And I don't think it's any secret, we want to establish the run. You got to have two backs in there who can play the game down hill, and then obviously, that opens up our passing game outside."

ASU lost three of its top four receivers from last season. Is that a concern?

"We're going to need some younger guys to step up. And we brought in a junior-college transfer (Alonzo Agwuenu) who will be here in the summer. But we feel good about the guys we have coming back and we'll have to continue to develop our depth."

Let's go through some of your playmakers out of the backfield. Thoughts on Cameron Marshall?

"You turn on the film and you see you have a big downhill back. He really shocks you when you see his body size and you see him on film, when he breaks it open, he has the gear that can break a long run. We think he'll really thrive in our offense."

Jamal Miles?

"You talk about a versatile athlete ... oh, man. The different things that guy has done and the different things we're going to ask him to do, he's walking around with a big smile on his face, I promise you."

Deantre Lewis?

"We're excited about how he's progressed (from his injury) and his attitude and his fight to get back on the field. There's no question, we like explosive playmakers and he definitely can do that. We think he can bring a special dynamic to this offense."

Marion Grice?

"He's a home-run hitter. You watch film, he's a very explosive player. He's about 210 pounds and when he breaks into the open, there aren't many people who are going to be tackling him. In a two-back spread offense, you got to have some running backs, especially with the tempo we're going to be playing at. That gives us a ton of competition at that position."

Do you expect freshman D.J. Foster to help right away?

"That's our plan. He's going to have to be on the fast track this fall and learn what we're doing, but he played a very similar offense (at Scottsdale Saguaro High). He's a guy, no question, athletically as a football player, who can come in and help us."

You've mentioned tempo a lot. How fast are we talking?

"We want to snap the ball between 15-18 seconds. We have the ability to vary the tempo, but as a base, we want to really put the hammer down on it."